“Until I give further orders, don’t let anyone enter the prison. Tell the guards who regularly distribute meals to stop distributing food as well.”

This was the order Dietrich gave to the imperial knights as soon as he returned from the prison. They followed the command of Dietrich, the captain of the imperial knights, without question.

“Understood, Your Excellency.”

“After sending the guards out, absolutely do not set foot near the prison. If discovered, it’s immediate execution. That includes you all.”

The knights gulped. Dietrich had never once joked about taking a person’s life.

The knights looked like they had many questions, but as soon as they faced Dietrich’s cold expression, their curiosity disappeared down their throats.

“…We will carry out your orders immediately.”

The knights bowed their heads and withdrew. As Dietrich remained alone, a dark shadow suddenly approached from behind.

“Your Excellency.”

It was Anderson, his aide. Dietrich spoke without turning his head.

“Tell me. What did you hear in the council chamber?”

“The ministers are trying to put Your Excellency in a difficult position, blaming you for failing to properly assist the Emperor. Led by Marquis Taylor.”

“…”

Dietrich’s lips twisted. There was a sneer on his lips, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“As expected. It’s playing out just as I predicted.”

“Your Excellency, what are your plans going forward? I heard you put the woman who assassinated the Emperor in the underground prison. Are you going to… kill that woman?”

Dietrich’s gaze finally turned to Anderson. Despite having observed Dietrich for no small amount of time, Anderson still found it difficult to read his inner thoughts.

Dietrich rarely showed any agitation. He hardly ever revealed his emotions, and always wore an expressionless face as if he didn’t know how to smile or cry.

Even now, facing him directly, it was the same.

Dietrich’s lips opened slowly.

“…I won’t kill her.”

With those words, Dietrich turned away.

Not killing her. Does that mean he intends to torture her just short of death? As numerous question marks arose in Anderson’s mind, he belatedly noticed something strange about Dietrich’s words.

For the first time in a very long while, Dietrich had used formal speech with him. Anderson, who had once taught swordsmanship to Dietrich, had early on recognized his potential and volunteered to become his aide. Since then, it had always been Anderson who used formal speech.

By the time the surprised Anderson came to his senses, Dietrich had already disappeared from his sight.

* * *

“The real thing doesn’t live up to the rumors.”

The guard kept smacking his lips as he looked at Celiya trapped behind the iron bars.

He was a long-serving guard who patrolled the underground prison and distributed meals. Though he had seen countless prisoners in the prison over the years, this was the first time he had seen such a beautiful prisoner.

As soon as he confirmed that Dietrich had left the prison, the guard hurriedly came to see Celiya.

Without bothering to bring food for the other prisoners, he only brought Celiya’s meal, his intentions sinister beyond compare.

The guard was about to push the bowl containing hard bread and thin soup through the iron bars when he grinned. His murky eyes looking at Celiya were full of lust.

“Are you hungry?”

There was a clunk sound. It was the sound of the guard putting down the food on the floor. Celiya stared blankly at the bowl containing the food.

The guard, who had deliberately placed the bowl just out of reach, moistened his lips with his tongue as he looked at Celiya.

The guard ran his greedy eyes over Celiya’s face and her delicate ankles contrasting with her blood-stained chemise.

“My, my. Your clothes look dirty. Shall I help you change into something else?”

Celiya said nothing. She had seen countless men like this throughout her life. And she didn’t want to waste energy dealing with trash.

“There’s no luckier guard in the world than me. To think I’d get to look down on the angel of Brillion I’d only heard rumors about.”

The guard chuckled, revealing his yellowed teeth.

“If you just do as I say, I’ll make sure you eat your fill.”

The guard, who didn’t even have any clothes for her to change into, started undoing his belt buckle with one hand while trying to unlock the cell door with the other to enter where she was.

As Celiya looked at the guard showing his yellow teeth, she recalled what she had said to Dietrich.

– You’ll surely regret it if you kill me now.

In truth, what she had said to Dietrich was a lie. If she had really wanted to live, she would have fled without looking back after killing the Emperor.

She might have been caught after just a few steps, but if she had wanted to live, she would have at least attempted to escape.

The reason she hadn’t was because she had achieved her lifelong goal.

Having killed the Emperor who had led the destruction of her kingdom, she felt she could now face her deceased family and people with dignity, expecting that she could finally die in peace.

If she was going to die anyway, she thought it wouldn’t be bad to die at the hands of a handsome man who disliked her, so she deliberately provoked Dietrich, but for some reason he withdrew his hand that had been choking her.

A man who knew about her ability. And the only man her ability didn’t work on.

“You dare to think of something else in this situation? Ignoring me, when you’re just a mere criminal?”

The guard’s words erased Celiya’s thoughts. Having completely unbuckled his belt and now in his drawers, the guard had entered the cell and grabbed Celiya’s ankle.

Deep contempt settled in Celiya’s eyes. Just as she was about to use her ability, she saw several figures walking with precise posture behind the guard.

“…You certainly are lucky.”

Celiya said softly, pulling up the corners of her mouth slightly. It was clearly a sneer.

The guard, too focused on Celiya to notice anyone coming from behind, hurriedly tried to pull down the hem of her dress.

Celiya kicked the guard away and screamed with all her might.

“Ahhh! Help me!”

“You, you! Are you crazy? Be quiet right now!”

The guard quickly tried to cover Celiya’s mouth, but it was already too late. The people who had hesitated for a moment at her scream now rushed towards where she was.

Their appearance was clearly revealed by the torches on the wall. Those wearing silver armor with red pauldrons were Dietrich’s direct subordinate knights.

The knights’ gazes fell on Celiya, whose dress had slipped down revealing her shoulders, and the nearly naked guard on top of her.

“This… this isn’t what you think, my lords…”

The guard tried to explain and salvage the situation, but such excuses wouldn’t work on Dietrich’s direct subordinates.

“We just received orders to close the prison.”

The knights frowned, grabbed the back of the guard’s neck, and threw him out of the cell. The guard fell to the floor with a thud and rolled disgracefully.

“Leave immediately. We will report this to His Excellency as soon as you exit the prison, understood?”

At the knight’s words, the guard’s face turned pale blue. If Dietrich were to find out about this, he would not only kill him but his family as well.

The guard knelt down, prostrated himself on the floor, and pleaded with the knights.

“I beg you like this. Please don’t tell His Excellency about this. I’ll, I’ll resign from my position as guard with my own hands. I have five innocent children who only look to me…”

“Don’t worry about your family.”

At the unexpected low voice, the gazes of Celiya, the knights, and the guard all turned towards the owner of the voice.

At that moment, the torch on the wall flickered greatly, its light pouring over his entire body.

“L-Lord Calypso!”

The guard cried out in a voice that was almost a scream. A dark shadow fell over Dietrich’s indifferent eyes.

Perhaps because he was right next to the torch, his sculptural features stood out even more.

His red eyes, a deeper color than the burning flame, looked excessively ascetic despite their intense hue.

It was Dietrich, who had appeared in a black uniform instead of heavy armor. Several medals awarded by the deceased Emperor were pinned to his chest.

Approaching without a sound, Dietrich didn’t spare even a glance for the guard. His eyes were fixed solely on Celiya, who was exposing her white shoulders.

Staring at Celiya with eyes devoid of emotion, Dietrich slowly opened his lips.

“Your rabbit-like children will follow their father.”

“!”

The guard despaired. He tried to make some excuse, his lips moving, but he was too frightened to say anything.

“Take him away.”

At Dietrich’s order, the knights immediately seized the guard’s body.

“From now on, don’t let anyone into this place.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

The knights bowed their heads and dragged the guard away.

Only when they were left alone did Dietrich’s gaze finally leave Celiya. He silently looked down at the hard bread and thin soup the guard had left behind.

He bent down and dipped his left index finger into the soup. Celiya watched Dietrich’s actions.

“Do you know what’s in this soup?”

It was a strange question. Celiya didn’t answer. As if he hadn’t expected an answer from her, Dietrich continued speaking as he wiped the soup from his hand with a handkerchief from his pocket.

“It’s an aphrodisiac. Also known as an excitant.”

“…”

“In this palace, there are many such aphrodisiacs. You shouldn’t eat just anything when you’re hungry.”

Dietrich picked up the bowl containing the hard bread and soup. Then, in front of her, he slowly poured them onto the floor.

Celiya silently watched as the thin soup clung damply to the cold stone floor.

“From now on, you must only eat what I give you.”

Dietrich’s words were very strange. At his words that seemed as if he was going to spare her life, Celiya finally opened her mouth.

“Why? Weren’t you trying to kill me until just now?”

“…”

His indifferent expression changed at Celiya’s next words, which she uttered to test him.

“Could it be because I have an ability?”